Fix You
by LightningIsBadass
Summary: When Lightning awakes from a crystal state and Hope is suddenly grown, how do they react? / First time writing a fanfic Hope x Light
1. Stuck in Reverse

**_This is my first story, just a quick little fanfic of my favorite pairing - Hope / Lightning. Just a small story I have in my head. Also heavily inspired by " Find a Way " by Safetysuit, thus the title. Also a small mix of " Fix You " by Coldplay in there somehwere. _**

**_Thanks for reading (If anyone even does..) _**

/

He missed her. That much was very clear to him, and probably Serah and Snow too. Heck, even Dajh might have noticed.

_A twelve year old can probably tell. That's definitely NOT a good thing... _

Escaping a small dinner party that Serah and Snow had thrown for the first year anniversary, Hope walked down the side streets of New Boduhm and was already wishing he had grabbed his jacket. He didn't want Serah to worry about him and wonder where he'd gone so he had left it. He intended to return, anyway. He just had to see one thing first..

_Bad choice. Didn't remember _old _Bodhum being this cold. _

Maybe it wasn't the cold that was getting to him. He stopped where the street took a different curve and followed along the path. The flowers here smelled sickly sweet and he couldn't help but take in their aroma. They reminded him of playing in the park with his mother when he was young. He stopped next to a chained fence that read 'CLOSED' and brushed his fingers against the metal. The sign above read 'Memorial Lane' and he felt a twist of rage building up inside him. It was good that the city had chosen to remember the l'Cie that were still crystallized, but did they have to display them? It didn't seem _right_.

_Lightning wouldn't have liked it either_

The small voice in the back of his head always whispered her name somehow into his thoughts. Six years ago today he had come unfrozen, Serah four months before that and Snow just three after Hope. Even Sazh and Dajh were together again, and now Hope was the only one left without his practical second half.

_Lightning..._

He was happy for the couple, who seemed overjoyed to be together again, but he still felt a bittersweet sickness in his heart when he looked at pictures of his friends being happy. He couldn't help but feel the slight jealousy and selfish feeling that just came naturally to him these days.

_I thought I was past all of this angsty teen stuff. _

He clambered over the fence easily, as he did every weekend, and dropped down on the other side. He strolled through the pathway with a little more hurry to his step. Clouded green eyes staring at the signs as he passed them, he finally came upon his almost- destination. A large stone stood in the center of a fork, and a silver plaque read, " May we always remember their sacrifice. "

_Damn right...Still, what I wouldn't give for _all _of us to be here..._

He clenched his fists and kept walking down the left path, hands at his sides. He came upon the sight and immediately looked up at the mounted crystal...person.

_I _refuse _to call her a statue. Shes just sleeping.._

He reached a hand out and touched her own, feeling no warmth beneath his fingers. Just smooth, cold crystal. But he knew she was in there, somewhere. She had completed her focus...She was just sleeping. She _had _to be.

_The others all woke up so fast though...what if she - _

" _No!_ " He smashed his other hand against the base of the stone, crumpling to his knees but still holding her hand firmly. He squeezed it once, not expecting her to squeeze back. The glowing blue of the frozen girl shone down on him, but he just stared back up at her with his green eyes, pleading her to give him some sort of sign to give him hope.

_' Living without hope isn't a way to live, only a way to die. ' _

He remembered everything she told him _so _clearly... it burned him. He never repeated the words she had told him to anyone else but himself, and remembered the way she alone could comfort him. Just simple gestures, a pat on the shoulder or mussing up his hair. He would do anything for her to be standing here right now _screaming _at him, as long as she was there.

He looked down at the ground, clenching his teeth as his fist shook at his side. He was filled with so much regret, guilt, anger and hatred. The Fal'Cie had done this...taken her away. Taken away his hopes, his dreams as well as hers. It wasn't fair that he got a second chance while she was stuck in endless sleep.

_What if she becomes like Fang and Vanille? Crystal state for..for 500 years?_

He would like to have told himself he would wait for her, but even then it just made him angrier at his own stupidity. " She wouldn't have waited that long for me... She would have stuck to a goal and moved on, like always.." He whispered to himself.

He was so busy in his ranting and angry thoughts that he didn't notice the warmth on his hand or the steadily brighter light in front of him that began to fade. Tears gently rolled down his cheeks, just a couple at a time as he fought them. He didn't notice anything except the suffocating anger in his chest until he felt a gentle squeeze on his hand. Bewildered, he snapped his head up and saw the crystal fading from around her. Like it was being washed off by an invisible rain, it glowed dimmer and dimmer until it disappeared all together. He sat there on his knees staring at her with wide eyes like saucers.

" _Light!_ " He finally choked out, breaking from his trance to leap to his feet.

He was so eager he skidded on the pavement and came back to his knees on the mount she had previously been crystallized on. He opened his arms to catch her as she collapsed, clearly unconscious still, and just held her there for a moment.

" Light! _Lightning! _Its me, Hope! Wake up! " He shook her shoulders, frantic. He thought of a small idea, though he doubted it would work. " Its time for watch! Wake up! Come _on_.." He gripped her shoulder.

He sighed heavily, not knowing what to do. He glanced desperately around and saw the flickering sign of the nearest hospital. He tightened his grip on her shoulders and nodded to himself once.

_Hospital. I need to take her to the hospital. _

He hoisted her up into his arms and as he ran towards the hospital, his mind marveled at how light she was. Then again, she was very acrobatic.

_You would need to be slim and light to be as fast as she was..._

He shook the thoughts away and ran until he he crashed through the doors of the hospital.

" Help! _Help!_ S-she.." He couldn't finish the rest of his sentence, so he just let the doctors surround him. He knew they would not recognize her, even if every one of them had seen the crystal statue. She was in uniform here and the crystal did make it pretty hard to make out detailed features, like the color of her hair or where she kept her gunblade holstered...

_Or the way her eyes glittered when she was surprised... _

He swallowed the thoughts like a bad piece of meatloaf, snarling inside his head,

_Not now, dumbass! Focus! Lightning is here and shes _unfrozen _and..and.._

He felt light headed and as he helped the doctors take her to a room and lay her down, he uneasily slumped into the chair and held his head between his hands.

A little while later, within no more than a half an hour or forty five minutes, a nurse came and told him that he could go into the room now that the examination was over.

" How long has she been out, son? " An older man - Hope guessed a doctor, by the looks of him, - asked him with genuine concern on his face. Well, as genuine as a doctor can get. He always had trouble believing them when they told him things. Like the needle wouldn't hurt - _ha! _

He tried to think of a believable story and as his mind grasped at straws he hoped the doctor would pass off his hesitation as a case of shock.

" Er..Sh-she just collapsed. Yeah, we were just walking and she collapsed and I don't know what else happened. " He hurriedly told the doctor, deciding to stay closer to the truth. He _didn't _know why it happened, and she _had _just collapsed, though he silently added,

_But she just woke from a crystal state and shes been asleep for six years..._

The doctor pulled up a swivel chair and sat across from him with a clipboard and a pen, and began to ask him questions.

" How old is she? " Asked the doctor, and Hope realized he probably thought himself too shook up to fill out the patient's information. Clearly most of it had been done already, except for a couple of things.

" She just turned 21 a couple of months ago. " He answered.

The rest of the questions grew steadily more and more uncomfortable.

" Her name? "

" Lightning Farron " He replied instantly, as if he had said the name too many times. The doctor picked right up on that too. With another harmless chuckle, he just adjusted his glasses and went along with it.

" Her last menstrual cycle? "

" I-i don't know! " He answered incredulously, and the doctor couldn't help but chuckle at his response.

" Okay. All I need is _your _name, and we can assume that Miss Lightning is your girlfriend, correct? " He finished, totally innocent about the whole thing. Or so his face said. Hope didn't trust that face.

" Uh-huh-huh.." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He was about to answer when the doctor's pager beeped and he left the clipboard and pen with him. He hurriedly excused himself and trotted out of the room and left Hope with the 'sheet of death'.

" Relation to patient..." He mumbled, hand shaking. He thought of the possible stories and for one reason or another, he put down the most truthful answer he could think of. He muttered it under his breath as he did so.

" Name:_ Hope Esthiem_. Relation to patient: _one sided / friend_, " Then finished off the rest of the information easier.

After that he sat back down in the chair and held Lightning's hand, his stomach aching from happiness. He felt the warmth beneath her skin now and when he closed his eyes he prayed he would wake up and she would be okay.

/

They got the call several hours before but only now could Snow and Serah make it over to the hospital. She had rushed through the halls as fast as the could, Serah's heart pounding in her chest and a goofy smile plastered all over Snow's face.

They had received a call from the hospital because they were the only phone number Hope had written down, and so they were of course confused. Lightning Farron was struck with strong fatigue and her 'unsure' friend was refusing to leave the room.

Serah burst into the room with the jumbo-goof at her heels but she stopped dead when she saw the scene before her. Lightning was asleep in the bright white bed, everything normal according to the beeping heart monitor. The only thing she wouldn't see as normal was Hope.

Sitting straight up in the chair, asleep, Hope had her sister's hand clutched loyally in his as he snored softly. She smiled at it and they both sat down in the waiting room again, deciding to wait for either of them to wake up.

/

Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was a blindingly white ceiling above her head. She blinked several more times and looked around groggily.

_Where am I? _

She noticed the familier set-up of a hospital room. She was confused but instantly alert, rushing to sit up in bed and immediately reaching for her gunblade. Of course it wasn't strapped to her still, and Lightning cursed herself for being so slow. She sensed a warm feeling on her other hand, so she looked over to see a _very _grown looking Hope, holding her hand and snoring softly in the chair. She gently pulled her hand away and it instantly woke him, as if his senses had been trained for that particular moment.

He looked at her and for a second she was startled.

_That cant be Hope! _Can _It? The eyes.._

She scanned his face, almost _aggressive _with her eyes, raking them over his features roughly. He was lean but still muscled in just the right places. He was taller, taller than her probably but not even close to Snow's height. His bandana was tied around his wrist instead of his neck and his jaw was more defined though still rounded. She settled on his eyes finally and she didn't doubt it anymore. The man sitting beside her was Hope Esthiem.

His smile was _definitely _the same and he clutched her shoulder again and whispered, almost in shock, " Light! Y-your..your awake! " His green eyes were so full of delight she almost second guessed herself. She remembered the fourteen year old kid who almost never smiled, and was still struggling with his mother's death. Not...like _this_.

She realized he was waiting for her to say something, so she cleared her throat and rasped, " Hey.. " because she couldn't think of any other response, intelligent or otherwise. Hope's response to that was a chuckle that almost sounded _giddy_.

But still...the look on his face, she couldn't help but smile at it, though she did not do so voluntarily. He smiled back even more, if that was even possible. Maybe his eyes did, because something about him radiated happiness. She looked down at her hand and noticed while her other one was freezing, this one was perfectly warm.

_He must have been holding it for a while._

She sat up while Hope began to explain everything, starting out slow and going into a rush when he explained her awakening.

She listened to his explanation with super-soldier focus and zoned in on his voice alone, taking in the details of how everyone had been for..how long did he say? _Six _years?

Hope plunged into the story, going over everyone on what must have been a mental check-list. The news startled her but she continued to listen to the whole thing..

" So..Serah runs a day-care for single parents now, and Snow still leads NORA but they work more on 'special ops' , " He quoted the air with an almost annoyed look on his face, " than rebellion these days. Snow and Serah just celebrated their first year anniversary together, actually..." He rubbed his arm uncomfortably but continued on with another nudge from Light's intense focus on the information. It disguised her true feelings well.

_They got married...and I didn't get to see it? I know the guy is annoying but...I missed my little sister's wedding! _

She felt a sharp ache in her heart as she thought of this, but Hope must have caught the look on her face and helped to move her along with a pat on her shoulder.

" Sazh has a company for some weird techie-stuff I don't know anything about. All I _do _know is its called 'Chocobo X' and it mainly focuses on computer technologies and stuff.." Hope looked genuinely lost, as if he had been explained before about it but still didn't really grasp the details. " Dajh is 12 now, and I think hes a genius. Very smart kid, probably takes after Sazh.." He couldn't help but chuckle and at the sound of this Lightning let a small smile twitch at her lips, but nothing more.

" Fang and Vanille..." He sighed, pained. " Nobody knows where they are. They just kind of..." He put his hands on his lap and closed his eyes. Clearly this was a touchy subject - she would make notes not to talk about it to the others if she could help it. She felt a pang of sadness inside herself when she remembered the pair, and frowned lightly at the mention. Hopes voice started up once again and brought her out of contemplation, however.

" Nobody knows where they are. We don't know if they are un- crystallized or what but...Nobody knows. " He just finished with a frustrated sigh and a sad look to his downcast green eyes. She squeezed his hand a little, the way she had when he broke down that day and he suddenly went on with renewed energy.

" PSICOM crumbled shortly after I woke up. There were so mainly civilians coming out with reports of all the horrible things they did they just couldn't keep afloat and eventually the Guardian Corps took over. Any decent soldiers left in PSICOM just became Guardian Corps, I guess. They have this huge facility and everything, Lightning! You'd - "

" I told you to call me _Light_, didn't I? " She cut him off with a raised brow.

He nodded and just said simply, " I didn't know if it still applied. "

Before she could reply he just launched back into the telling of how it all went down, but halfway through he got distracted when he got a text on his phone. He looked frustrated and texted back rapidly, but then a smile crept onto his face yet again, "Oh yeah..you know that girl Lebreau? " He began mischeviously, eyes practically shining with anticipation. SHe half expected him to tell her he was dating her, but she held off and nodded back to him. She vaguely remembered the NORA members from previously meeting them at some party a while ago. A _long _while ago, now.

" Well Lebreau and Maqui - you know, tall blonde kid, spiky hair, goggles and a headset? " She nodded once, remembering more clearly now. Maqui - an eager little teenager who followed Snow's every word like it was the most important lesson in the world.

" Him and Lebreau started dating about six months ago. So if they seem a little..._different_, thats probably why. " He chose the word carefully, hinting at something more. She was too tired and, frankly, too anxious to really put any thought into it.

Finally, he clasped his hands together, deliberately avoiding her eye contact, " So yeah. That's everyone. "

" What about you? " She asked, crossing her arms and looking at him. He seemed surprised, so she said, " What? You thought I would just _forget_? "

" I was kind of _hoping_, yeah.." He answered awkwardly, giving her a sheepish grin. She just shot back a glare that said 'yeah right' and he sighed and hesitantly told about himself.

" Well, Light..." He looked down at his shoes before clenching his fists and confidently daring to look right back at her deep blue eyes. She was a little surprised by this action but not because he had never done it before - because she felt a small lump form in her throat when he did so.

" I joined NORA last year and I work with whatever Maqui and Snow have me doing. I don't know what sole purpose I serve there just yet, but I'm training under everybody when they can take me. I can still do good and get stronger without having to worry about holding people back. " His voice was slightly bitter, as if he was remembering the guilt he felt about holding Lightning back all those years ago. Not that he had anyway, once he learned to toughen up.

Hope put both hands on her shoulders tentatively , as if afraid she was going to rip them off at any second, and gently laid her down against the bed. " Get some rest. I'll give you more details later, Okay...Light? "He asked with a smile, clearly exhausted himself. Bags under his eyes, silver hair messed up every possible way, his whole body screaming for more sleep. She nodded and closed her eyes.

Before Hope had even settled in the chair again she asked quietly, " Hope? How old are you, exactly? "

" Twenty...Why? " He asked, already sounding confused and sleepy.

_Twenty? Damn, he sure caught up fast, didn't he? _

" No reason. " She replied shortly, then added, " 'night. "

/

**_I originally intended this to be a quick oneshot story but...Hey, whatever. _**

**_Read and Review, but take it easy :) First time writing anything close to fanfiction before._**

**_Next Chapter soon, I promise. Unless I get REALLY negative reviews...than in which case I will never dip my toe in the water again :3  
><em>**


	2. Your Hands

_**Okay, this is a re-write of the previous Ch. 2, because 1) I did that when I was half asleep and didn't really care about it and 2) I feel like I let some people down with it :/ Less fluff, I promise. ( Or, I'll try too. )**_

* * *

><p>" Okay, thanks Serah. " Hope finally replied after a very long pause, blushing slightly at whatever Lightning's sister had said. His cell-phone clicked shut and he turned to look at Lightning with a half smile. It was like he was going to be breaking bad news to her, more than anything else.<p>

" So..Serah and Snow's place is full-up - you know, guests and all - and Sazh is out of town..." He sighed and went to scratch the back of his head. Lightning noticed he did that _a lot _around her, and wondered if it was a habit or if it was just her that made him do it.

" And I'm staying..._where_? " She nudged, raising her brow and putting a hand on her hip.

" At my place, I-I guess..." He finished with an awkward shuffle. " Sorry, it's either that or a hotel and..." He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly, " My place is probably a lot _cleaner _than a hotel room..."

Then he made a startled face and back-tracked, waving his hands rapidly in front of himself, " That doesn't mean I _want _you to go to a hotel! Unless...unless _you _want to go, then I can get you a room but you don't have to- " He was cut off when Lightning stepped forward and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. The look on his face was priceless.

_I think I just gave him a heart attack. Good.  
><em>

His face immediately turned pink but she just rolled her eyes and grabbed his T-shirt, " Come on, Estheim. Double time. " She had to drag him a couple steps but he caught on. He laughed and followed after her, straightening his shirt when she finally let go.

He stepped out of the hospital with Lightning right behind him and she let him lead the way through New Bodhum, to wherever his place was. They had already walked a couple blocks when a small camera buzzed passed them. They quickly picked up the pace when they got close to Memorial Lane, where there was a big commotion about the missing statue. Most assumed it was stolen or something, nowhere close to what actually happened. Hope grabbed her arm and hurried along with a worried gleam to his eyes. He turned a sharp corner and slowed down again and looked over at her.

" What? Why are you looking at me like that? " He asked, eyes lit up with laughter while he tried to keep a straight face. He just couldn't though - the expression on her face was clearly hilarious.

" You aren't huffing and puffing, for once. Before you would have been asking for a break. " She remarked with visible annoyance. She caught herself sounding like that and cleared her throat, straightening up. " I mean, It's not _bad _or anything, just...different. "

_And when did he get so _tall_? _

She gave him the once over and he just shrugged stupidly, probably not knowing what else to do. She motioned for him to lead the way again and he gladly did so.

When they reached a busier part of the city, she could see that there were still plenty of people left from Cocoon.

_Great. _More_ paranoid people waiting for another Purge. _

She felt her hand held by somebody and looked up from her thoughts to see it was Hope. She tensed to pull away but Hope had already stepped off the curb and was trying to pull her along. She pulled her hand away, but the look that flashed across his face made her stomach turn to mush.

_I am _such _a jerk._

She didn't know what to do so she just kept on walking, feeling bad about being so uptight about it. I mean, it was just her hand. He had been holding it the night before when they were sleeping, and obviously when she first woke up. It wasn't a bad thing. It always filled her with a little more confidence than the last time. She had to hold back a smile so she wouldn't look like a total idiot in the middle of a cross-walk.

_So warm..._

She blinked rapidly and almost choked on the thought, finally reaching the other side. She looked around confoundedly for Hope, lost in the sea of people with her thoughts messing up her direction.

_Hope? Warm? What am I thinking? Must be the meds , still in my system...When we get to his house I have _got _to lay down for a bit, get this stupid ..ugh. _

She felt her hand being grabbed again and she was pulled out of the crowd. Hope held tightly to it now and said with a slightly put-off tone, " Now you see why I was holding it. " He let go instantly, looking away and said to her, " Let's go. My apartment is just over here. " He started walking ahead of her so she followed, all the while feeling_ horrible _about her actions now.

While they were walking, she noticed his hair was shorter than it had been before. She didn't know what made her realize it, but obviously he had gotten a hair cut while she was asleep in the hospital. She looked a little surprised, but when they arrived at a tall silver colored wooden door she brushed the look right off of her face.

" This is it... " Before he could turn around to press the highlighted blue button, she grabbed his shoulder and looked up at him. " Hope, I..I'm sorry, about before. I was just surprised and...I know you were just trying to help. "

Hope studied her for a while then a cheery grin appeared on his face. He poked her forehead playfully and said, " Don't worry about it, " and elbowed the button. The door opened, and when they both stepped inside, the area was already part of an elevator. Hope pressed the button for one of the rooms on the top floor and off they went.

The awkward, oddly infuriating elevator music still didn't help matters much. Hope stood there with his hands at his sides, refusing to look at anywhere but at his feet.

Lightning shuffled and cleared her throat softly, looking around.

" So..How about this elevator, huh? " Hope finally said, voice quiet and she could practically feel the uncomfortable feelings coming off of him.

" Yeah. " She replied, too focused on staring at him at the moment to think of a better response.

He looked up, and inched over to her a little more. And a little more. She watched him but didn't move, just stood there and stared at him with a 'wtf ' expression.

Before Hope could say anything though, the door beeped and Lightning just stepped out of the small room and left him standing there like a tree.

_Dear Maker, that was close. I thought I was going to lose it. What the hell? _

* * *

><p>It was later that evening when Hope settled down next to Lightning on the couch. Though his apartment was small compared to the other ones in the building, it was more than accommodating. He made the two of them some coffee - which Light said she was surprised he even drank - and sipped it casually as they watched the news. The reporters on every channel were buzzing about the 'stolen' crystal l'Cie.<p>

He turned off the TV and squeezed the bridge of his nose and looked over at her with a sigh, " Hey, Light? What's the matter? " He finally managed to ask. She had been scowling like that the whole time and he was starting to get concerned.

_Does she have a stomach ache? Oh my god, its my _apartment _isn't it? She _hates _it. Shes going to call Serah first thing tomorrow and_-

" Just putting together how much you've changed. " She answered him, looking back at him steadily. He never felt such a rush as when she did that - she looked at him like he was equal, not some slimy little kid that followed her around.

" I haven't changed that much, Light. I'm a little taller and shaggier, but..that's it. " He shrugged, feeling his cheeks turn pink as she continued to fix him with that stare. He picked up their empty mugs and started towards the kitchen. He figured out it wasn't exactly a death stare, but it wasn't _friendly_ either. It was more...contemplating the best strategy to tackle a mad-man running loose on the city.

" No, you have _definitely_ changed more than that, Hope. I'm not _stupid_. " She growled at him, crossing her arms.

" No no _no_! I did-didn't mean you were! " He quickly backtracked, sitting back down beside her again and totally forgetting about the mugs.

She looked over to him and smirked and he immediately felt stupid. His face turned beat red and he couldn't even choke out anything to say.

_She tricked me. Can Light even do that? What am I saying? Shes not some robot with no emotions. Wow, I probably look seriously stupid right now. Say something! _

Finally she laughed and mussed up his hair, then looked over at him. " I'm going to go get ready for bed, then. The guest room is.. down the hall, right? " She asked, standing.

" Yeah, just to the right. " He pointed and she grabbed a bundle of clothes from the hallway that Serah had dropped off. She disappeared into the room, and Hope set to work cleaning up the dishes.

Five seconds into it though, he remembered she didn't have any sheets in the spare room. He grabbed a set of blue sheets and pillow cases, and marched into the room, not even thinking to knock.

The yell that met him at the door made his stomach clench in fear. He stood in the doorway staring at a very, _very _naked Lightning. His voice cracked a little and she threw a pillow at him and he just stumbled back out of the door and smacked into the ground. She slammed the door, and he sat there dazed for a second.

Lightning_. Naked. I saw. _

_I saw. Lightning. _Naked

He finally managed to cough, " Sheets, Light. " He rubbed the back of his head where he had hit it on the wall.

_Wow, I don't think I've ever seen her that flushed before..._

_What the hell am I _thinking_? Get out of here, Hope! _

_... I have to apologize for this. If she wasn't going to leave before , she certainly will now._

_I. am going. to die. _

_Still... The way her _eyes _lit up - _NO_. _

He stood up and hid behind the corner, curling up and staring at the wall. He prepared himself for the onslaught of screaming and ranting and name-calling, and the eventual departure.

_It was nice while it lasted.._

A couple minutes later, he heard the door click open. The click of death. That would be the sound he would hear before being _bludgeoned_ to death.

She crept around the corner, and spotted him. He had his face in his hands and he just closed his eyes and fired out apologies as she glared down at him with frustration in her eyes. He peeked up at her and saw that her idea of PJ's was actually not so different from his, minus a girlish detail or two. A long, old T-shirt that hung off one shoulder, and a long pair of pajama shorts. But he didn't have time to focus on the look for long before he caught the death glare again.

_Oh _please_, let it be fast. _

* * *

><p>Lightning looked down at the crumpled little form of a twenty year old man sitting there apologizing.<p>

_What is he apologizing for? Its not like he did it on purpose._

_Unless he did._

_No, he probably didn't._

_...  
><em>

_... right? _

She scooted over and sat next to him, looking over at the guilt swallowed guy sitting beside her.

" I _might _be willing to forgive you if you do something for me, okay Hope? " She started and he immediately grabbed her hand with both of his and pleaded for the task.

" A-anything! " He cried, eyes wide with fear. She was a little bit startled by it, giving him an odd look before it softened and she flashed him a smile.

" Tell me more about yourself. The _real_ Hope, not the one who ' only got a little taller and shaggier ' " She quoted him in a dumb, guy voice.

" W-what? " He looked puzzled and he stared at her like she was beginning to mutate into some six headed creature.

" You heard me. " She told him, trying to sound serious but unable to pull it off very well .

_This is a great way to guilt him into telling me...I don't like it when he looks guilty though. Two birds with one stone, I guess. _

He sighed in defeat and rested his head against the wall. She took his hand and he smiled at her, and said, " What do you want to know? "

" The basics. " She told him with a smirk, looking down at his hand.

" Well...like I said before, I work with NORA in my spare time. I go to the coffee shop and do some chores there, just to earn some extra cash.." He looked around the room as if trying to figure out something else to tell her, smile fading again. He shrugged, " I don't know what else there is to tell. " He smiled at her once more and she felt her stomach flutter.

_Hold it together. The interrogation isn't over just yet. _

" Do you have any _friends_? "She asked, immediatley feeling stupid because of how she worded it, " I mean..other than Serah and Sazh and Snow..."

" I have a couple, but not very close. I think my closest guy-friend at the moment is probably Maqui . I don't think I could let any of my other friends near you, though. " He added with a certain finality to his voice.

" Why not? " She asked, puzzled but annoyed, " Is it embarrassing to be seen with an older woman or something? "

Hope broke out laughing, leaning on her for a second while he caught his breath before he answered with a tear in his eye, " No! " He looked at her, " I just don't trust them not to go super-creep on you. they are a funny bunch of guys to be around, but most of them hunt anything with legs. " He smirked. " And I already punched one of them out once before, I don't need you to give me another reason for bloody knuckles. "

She blushed, " I think I can handle myself Hope. " She must have come off more serious than she actually was. She felt flattered, in reality.

" Yeah, I- I know.." He frowned slightly and clearly she hit a nerve. Before she could ask what was wrong, he added on, " And hey! Your only a year older now, soldier! " He flashed her a challenging yet playful glare.

_A year older...Maybe that's not so bad.._

* * *

><p>Hope told her everything she asked, from his relationship with the NORA members, to how he feels about being the solitary one in the bunch of his friends.<p>

" Face it, Light. Serah has Snow, Sazh has Dajh, Maqui has Lebreau...Who do I have? " He asked with a simple shrug. It wasn't that big of a deal - he was used to being solitary.

" What about your dad? " She asked, fixing him with the same stare and making his face flush, even when he lowered his head he was sure it was still visible.

" He uh...he died three years ago. " He explained while looking back up at her, " Stress from work and...and mom.." His voice broke a little but he forced it to stay strong.

_She just now started treating me like an equal. I can't go back to the sniveling little kid she found all those years ago..._

She looked down at their hands - still locked together, to his relief - and then whispered, " I-I'm sorry, Hope - "

" You didn't know, it's fine. " He smiled at her. He had been forcing that same smile since everyone else had awoken from crystal state, but she hadn't. Since Serah and Snow tried comforting him when his father passed. He was more than good at making it believable, but Light just leaned against him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He felt the blush menace rushing to his face _again_ and he looked down.

Lightning did something unexpected then. She used her other hand to lift his chin to look at her, then she told him, " Its okay, Hope. I don't have anyone either. " He smiled at her small little gesture - bigger than anything she had done to anyone except her sister, probably - and nodded once.

They sat there in silence for a couple minutes before she looked up at the clock and sighed, " I think I should turn in, then. Can I go to the room without you peeking? " She asked with a playful shove.

" Yeah. The bed is all set in there now. " He stood as well and walking down the hall way with her simply because his room was at the end, but to the left. He stopped by the guest room door but forced down his feelings and turned to his own bedroom.

" Hey Hope? " He heard her voice behind him, and turned to see her peeking half way out from behind the door. She flashed him one of those rare smiles and said, " Good Night. "

" Good Night. " He waved to her with a grin and went to bed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So there you have it. Totally re-done, much longer Chapter 2 for you :3 <strong>_

_**Hope this one doesn't disappoint you as much as the other one did T ^ T**_

_**I know its not PERFECT but.. I like where it is now. **_

_**Which means there will probably be more chapters to it :3 I have gotten mostly positive reviews and comments now, so I'm quite happy :D**_

_**If you guys have any ideas for more that you would like to see, feel free to send me a PM!  
><strong>_


	3. Bullet for my Valentine

**Hey guys! I am so very, very sorry this took as long as it did. I usually pride myself on getting a chapter out in two weeks TOPS, but my hard drive crashed after I finished writing the story, so I had so little inspiration it was just...amazing. Anyway, here it FINALLY is! Chapter three! Thanks for all your patience!**

_I survived a dreadful accident_

_In the car crash of the century_

_My shattered hopes collapsed on cold cement_

_But in the back of the ambulance, I never felt so content._

_- Hospital Flowers / Owl City_

Hope opened his eyes, the morning light shining in through the half closed curtains. He looked around the room, grunting sleepily as he sat up and scratched his stomach. Then the realization hit him, like a hard kick to the groin.

_I saw _Lightning_..naked._

He jumped out of bed, forgetting all he had on was a pair of boxers, and swung open the door. He succesfully managed to slam the door right into Light's face, sending he stumbling backward into the wall.

"Ow! What the hell!" She barked, hand clasped over her nose. She lifted her hand away and immeditaley replaced it.

"Hope!" She glared at him. He noticed th brown stains all over the rug and figured she had brought him some coffee.

_Shit! _

"Oh my- I am so sorry!" He ran around the corner into the bathroom and grabbed some tissues, and he grabbed a few and went to move her hand. She sent him an icy glare and took he tissues from him, doing it herself.

_I think my soul just cried a little. _

About a half an hour later, Lightning was good as new - or at least, she looked like it. Still in her pajamas from last night, she sat straight up in the chair and avoided eye contact. She just sipped her fresh cup of coffee and ignored him for the most part.

I have to make this right. My god, how she hasn't beaten me up already I will never know.

"So! Light..I, uh..I was thinking. Why don't I take you out?"She gave him a scary look and he immediatley explained, " I mean out, like outside...as in outside the house, you know..to see the town and..stuff. Again. "

She rolled her eyes and answered, "Sure, why not? Beats going shopping with Serah."

"You don't like shopping?" He asked, incredulous. "I thought all girls liked shopping..."

"Yeah, maybe girls like Vanille." Lightning said, huffing a little.

Then the silence set in. Both of them looked away from eachother. Hope closed his eyes, remembering that one summer day on Pulse when he an Vanille had sat by the cliff and talked about the promise he made. Or the one he didn't make. It didn't matter anymore, did it? Vanille was a beautiful girl who had given up so much, and..and now it didn't seem fair that she was frozen. It really, really didn't.

_Light un-froze...the rest of us did, too. So will Vanille and Fang. _

_...Right?_

He cleared his throat after a long time and said quietly, almost too quietly, "I'm going to go get ready, then. "

He stood and walked down the hallwa, leaving light just staring down at the cup of coffee in her hands blankly.

Lightning thought back to the times she had spent with Vanille. Though they were few, and she hadn't really taken the time to actually gett to know Vanille - that was always a Sazh kind of thing - she still felt bad about what she had said. She was even younger than Light and she knew what she had to do in the end, to make everything right and to save the world. Her and Fang had given up a lot for the world. What had she given?

_A good news story, probably. _

She cleared the thoughts from her min and stood, setting down her mug. Lightning made her way into the guest room, closed the door and picked out her clothes for the day. Instead of her regular uniform that she felt comfortable wearing most of the time, she figured it would be a lot easier to just dress more...casually. She didn't want to be recognised, after all. But after rummaging around in the bag that Serah had brought her she realized...there was nothing at all appropriate. So she stuck to her uniform.

After she had buckled the last buckle and fixed her hair she looked at herself in the mirror. She straightened up and slipped her gunblade into it's holster.

_Better safe than sorry._

She walked out of the bedroom, quite sure Hope was still changing. She looked around the corner, at a few picture frames Hope had on a desk.

One of them was of him standing with the whole group, just the same as she remembered him all those years ago. Fourteen year old Hope was standing next to Snow, on the very edge of the picture. Snow was wrapped around Serah, Sazh was holding Dajh on his shoulders and a crystalized orb could just be seen behind them. She looked at Hope, who seemed to be shrugging away from Snow's arm. His peircing green eyes were looking elswhere and he had a lost expression on his face.

She sighed, and moved on to the next photo. Judging by the date, it was a couple months later. Hope was in a tux, his hair spiked up and cut a lot shorter. He was awkwardly standing next to a girl who must have been four years older than him, who smiled and kissed his cheek. He was blushing but...behind the tiny smile she could still see the sadness. She felt a twang in her heart, but when she looked at the next photo something else hitched in her gut.

A couple years later there stood a tall kid with silver hair with his arm around a girl - pretty, but obviously the typical cheerleader type that Lightning had so very much liked to wail on in her highschool years - they were smiling and Hope looked genuinly happy. Lightning felt her fist clench slightly and she was surprised that she found herself feeling...jealous.

_Seriously? What am I, some cliquey little freak? Obviously this is over.._

She looked at the other photos too - some were from parties with Hope's friends, namely Maqui and Yuj. As she looked over the photos, slowly she noticed Hope's smiles getting weaker and weaker, Yuj leaving the photo collection all together and being replaced by Lebreau. Maqui's arm went from over and around Hope's shoulder and neck to being clasped by Lebreau. The last one on the shelf was of his last birthday. He sat there at the table with a pink and blue froste cake that said 'happy twentieth, Hope!' on it. He was sitting in a chair with a peice of cake on his plate, looking disappointed. The others around him didn't seem to notice.

Just as she moved away from the photos, something caught in the light. She raised an eyebrow and peered behind the desk. She found a picture hidden behind the desk, shoved in a small crevice where it would be almost unnoticable. She took the picture out and she leaned agains the wall to look at the picture. She felt her heart drop a little.

Set for the date she knew only as her birthday, only at 11:00 at night, she saw the grown up Hope in the side of the picture. He had silver hair coming from under a black and green touqe. His smile was genuine and warm, not like it had been with the picture of the other girl, the actual Hope's smile. She still felt a hint of sadness though, because there were tears brimming in his sparkling eyes. He seemed to be holding the camera himself, taking a picture of him and the statue beside him. She knew it was her, just by the expression on her face. There was a cupcake in his hand with a single candle burning. She thought she could see a bottle of something on the ground, but she didn't want to focus on it.

She heard the door open then, just as she felt a tear threatning to fall. She stuff the picture back into it's place, and spun to look at Hope. She took in his appearance right away, trying to use anything to take her midn off of what she just saw.

He was wearing that classic green bandana, a white shirt and black shorts. She suddenly felt very over dressed.

"Looking at the pictures?" Hope asked her, and she looked behind her and exhaled, "Yeah, sorry."

"No, it's fine...sorry for the crappy number of them though. I try to get out but..I didn't really feel like it."

There had to have beena t leasy twenty five there, but she didn't argue.

"So..you ready?" She asked him and he nodded, so they both headed towards the door. Awkwardly, they also decided to go out the door at the same time. They got stuck a couple times, and finally Hope motioned for her to go first. She smirked and stepped out, shaking her head slightly.

They walked down the road in awkward silence, looking ahead. Hope had his hands shoved in his pockets, and he seemed to be furiously occupied with counting the cracks in the sidewalk he stepped on.

Lightning didn't really give it much thought, thinking _'He's a teenager now, I guess. Teenager problems.' _

Though she really did't believe it. Not completely, but she didn't want to bother him. It looked like something important.

They walked around the corner, and Hope stopped in front of her. Immediatley alert, she let her hand slip to her gunblade. "What is it, Hope?" She asked in an icy cold voice, soldier mode beginning to click into place.

She caught him doing a double take, at first a grin on his face and now a frown of confusion.

"What're you doing, Light?" He asked in surprise, putting hands on her shoulders.

"You looked...alert. I figured something was up ahead." She moved her hand away and rolled her shoulders - simultaeniously getting them from Hope's hands as well - and muttered, "Old habits die hard."

She saw his eyes glitter with something for a second before he curtly nodded and cleared his throats, "It's okay, Light. I was the same way for a long time too."

She looked at him but only nodded, not daring to speak another word. She heard him huff slightly in defeat and he grabbed her hand. She almost pulled back before she remembered the previous day - the crowded crosswalk, getting lost...

He pulled her through the crowd, firm yet gentle in the same way. She let him, not minding the closeness. But as soon as they were safe across the street, she pulled her hand away roughly.

She ignored the look on his face, and pointed ahead, "What's going on over there?" she asked, and without a second of hesitation stepped toward the park. She heard Hope following her, and breathed a silent sigh of relief. She hoped, against her will, that she hadn't offended him too much.

"Looks like they're showing movies in the park. Must be using that new projector we found, out by this old village." Lightning looked over at him, and saw the smile appear on his face, that childish grin she subconiously loved to see. "Tons of oldies." He said, the grin still on his face.

_He likes old movies? Wow, who would of thought..._

She nodded, scratching the back of his head, looking at him then to the movie and closed her eyes, knowing she would regret what she was about to say, "Want to go see one?" She asked, looking at him with nothing but dull curiosity.

Lightning saw Hope's face light up like a Christmas tree, and he nodded, saying, "Yeah! I didn't think you would want to, what with the light-sensitivity and all."

That would be why my eyes feel like they're going to rip off my head...

"Never thought to mention 'light sensitivity' before, Hope?" She frowned at him, crossing her arms.

"I...I didn't want to put 'light' and 'sensitive' in the same sentence, in front of you, _Light_." He explained with a cheeky grin on his face. If it weren't for how cute it made him look, she would have slapped it right off his face.

She rolled her eyes, "Come on, then." and continued walking. He followed her, which she was surprised to find herself feeling a bit nostalgic when he did, and when they arrived at the park she heard a sharp clang. She looked up, and saw a huge tarp being set up. Probably to block out the sun so that movie would be clearer. It was a massive tarp, it took up almost the whole park. She guessed there would be a lot of people.

_Great, I love being with people. So much. _

She looked over at Hope, who had fallen silent. She glanced across the room and saw a pretty young girl. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach against her will, and tried to shove the feeling away. It came into her throat instead, in a hard lump. The girl turned and saw Hope, and she flashed him an awkward smile, turned to the boy beside her, and they walked away. The boy looked over his shoulder and slipped an arm around the girl's waste.

Hope sighed quietly, and put his hands in his pockets. That's when he seemed to notice Lightning watching him, because he turned to look at her and said, "Maybe...coming here wasn't such a good idea."

"Was that an ex-girlfriend, Hope?" Lightning asked without hesitation. She was a little bit frightened to hear the slightest hint of jealousy in her tone, but she didn't let it show that she had noticed it.

"Sort of." He replied, and turned to walk away without saying anything else.

"I thought you wanted to see the movie?" She asked, catching his shoulder. She felt him weaken, almost go limp, under her touch and he turned back to look at her, "I can't...face her, not after what happened."

Lightning didn't need to ask what happened to know it had been horrible from him. This girl had hurt him quite deeply, and she rubbed his shoulder with her thumb to let him know...whatever it was she was trying to convey to him. She wasn't sure herself.

He locked eyes with her for a minute before he turned and walked back to her. She granted him the smallest smile that she hardly ever wore, and they continued into the half set-up tent. The two of them settle down on the grass side by side, mainly to avoid touching other people, and waited in the silence for the movie to begin playing.

A little ways off, Lightning spotted the girl again. She _was _pretty...

_Prettier than me. _

_Wait..._what_?_

The girl giggled as her assumed boyfriend reached down and planted a kiss on her forehead, holding her in his arms. Disgusted, Lightning scoffed and looked away. She looked up at Hope and saw he hadn't done the same. His fists were clenched at his side, and even when the movie was beginning to play in the almost dark tent, he didn't take his eyes off of them. Lightning felt like a school girl in between two speeding semi's. Not a pretty picture.

She let it go for a while, trying to focus on the movie. She hated it when she was angry and people tried to comfort her and get her to calm down. She would calm down when she was ready to. So, knowing this, she let Hope sit there and watch the two teenagers.

About halfway through the movie, however, Lightning casually scanned around the room without even knowing she was doing it. She caught the girl looking over at them, her expression hidden. But it was clear she was watching them. Lightning glanced at Hope to see if he saw this too, and saw that he had came to sit with his head on his knees and play with grass, not even paying attention to the movie. She turned her head back to the girl and for a sliver of a moment, she thought she saw jealousy on her face. Lightning narrowed her eyes and looked away.

She spoke very quietly, pretending to be watching the movie, "Your friend is staring." She stated plainly.

Lightning saw Hope turn his head back and look at the girl, who then hurriedly looked away.

_Coward._

The pink haired soldier looked back at Hope once more and saw him with his jaw clenched, hands balling into fists in the grass.

She stared at his hands for a long time, noticing how his knuckles became white. She sighed in defeat, staring blankly ahead as she drew her hand from her pocket and place it overtop of his fist. She felt him relax, and couldn't help but take a small look back at him. He sat there, staring at the conact. When his hand relaxed they didn't intertwine fingers. They just sort of..left their hands there. She could feel his pulse racing a small smirk appeared on her face.

It was about twenty minutes later when she found that she had moved closer to him. She was startled, to say the least. She had managed to keep a good distance from all the people around her, enough to breathe at least. She saw their hands in the same position, though she was closer. Close enough that their shoulders brushed against each other, at least. She decided that as more and more people came to catch the ending of the movie, she had become more and more packked in.

Though Lightning really wasn't focusing on that thought too much, because she was still staring at Hope's face, struggling to keep her composure.

This can't be happening.

But it was. She noticed they had _both _moved cloer simultainiously, and her fingers began to curl slightly between his. It was invuluntary. She wished it would stop.

_I can't be doing this. _

_He'll think I'm a freak._

_What are those girls called?_

_Oh, yeah. Cradlle robbers!_

_I'm not a cradle robber. _

_Am I?_

_No...right? _

She was even angrier at ... well, everything. That she was doing it, that he was doing it, that she was reacting the way she did.

Those thoughts were silenced when his hand curled too, their fingers brushing. She felt her face heat up and she stared at the hand with hatred.

_Damn you. _

She glanced back up at Hope and saw he was guarded, almost afraid.

She leaned in, origionally planning to whisper that they should stop this, or somethin similar, when she caught a wiff of his breath. Minty, sweet...

He leaned in too, and she was pissed off to feel her hand tighten slightly around his. Their lips had _almost _met when she heard a shout. A loud one.

She snapped her head up, looking around the area. Her soldier reflexes were already kicking in, and when she heard the other shout and noticed the forms of two men out on the street, she untangled their fingers and marched toward the arguing men. The movie was almost over, so most people were still sitting, but none were watching it anymore. She felt her hand slide to the hilt of her gunblade, and her fingers twitched as they felt the familier handle.

The two men shoved eachother, spitting insults and throwing punches after every round. Following her instincts as a soldier, she tried to break up the fight. Dodging punches and managing to put herself between them, she finally snapped, "What is the meaning of this?"

Hope had come along too, as well as a small group of people who now surrounded the soldier and the men in the middle. Lightning felt her arm smacked away as the two went at each other again, firing even worse insults and reaching around the seemingly 'weak' soldier.

Just as she was about to send both of them to the ground with a kick to the groin, one of the men pulled out an object she immediatley knew was a gun. She drew her own, easily shifting it into gun form. She felt fabric brush her shoulder and saw Hope standing there, his green eyes ablaze.

"Stay back, Hope." She ordered, her voice cold and cuthroat. That usually worked when he was fourteen, but she didn't even see him acknowledge her.

As she turned her head to order him again, maybe even using a good backhand or extra measure, she saw Hpe move. The blast that came from the gun in the man's hand was defeaning. Despite herself she couldn't help thinking,

_Guns sure have...improved since I've been gone, eh?_

Everything washed away when she saw Hope go down infront of her, clutching at a wound in his shoulder. It all happened in a blur; Her fist connecting with the man's jaw. People shouting and rushing, though none of their words made sense. Pulling Hope's head into her lap, shaking him. The medics taking Hope away on a stretcher. Arguing with the man until she had to flash her soldier status in his face to get in the back with Hope.

On the way to the Hopsital, Hope's eyes rolled open. He saw her and weakly his fingers twitched and he swallowed hard. She understood the meaning somehow, and clutched his hand as gently as she could. A small, weak smile came to his face and faded as he slipped back into unconciousness. That's the only clear memory she had of the night.

It was all incredibly fast for her. One second he was there, then he was on the ground, and now he was being pulled into surgery to remove the bullet from his shoulder. It seemed like seconds to her, but in reality it had taken over an hour.

Now Lightning sat outside Hope's room, staring at the clock across from her. It would be a long night.

******* YES I KNOW IT CHANGES POV AFTER THE FIRST LITTLE BIT. I AM AWARE. I DID THIS INTENTIONALLY. CHILL. *******

**DONE!**

**Not the story, the chapter. **

**Again, sorry it took me this long. You write when you feel it and for a while, I was just like.."Eh..." **

**But it's done.**

**And because this chapter was going to be even **_**longer **_**than it is now, I had to split it. So hopefully, the next chapter will be shorter. **

**Thanks for reading! :) **


	4. Janegirl

_**Chapter four guys! I hope I got this out a little quicker than the last chapter! Woo...?**_

_**Enjoy.  
><strong>_

* * *

><p>Lightning awoke to a hand on her shoulder. She snapped her eyes opened, jumping to her feet immediately. She snapped her head to the side, ready to fight off whatever dream monsters her mind could conjure up in that short amount of time.<p>

She was surprised to find a doctor, his hands held up in front of him, staring at her with wide eyes. She was confused for a second before she remembered where she was, and the memories of the day before all hit her like a speeding semi. She nodded at him, relaxing her arms to her sides.

The doctor lowered his arms and made a motion for her to follow him, and hurried down the hall. He still seemed a bit nervous and almost began walking faster as she followed him, but seemed to catch himself.

Lightning was taken to a small white room. Not _just _a white room, a _painfully _white room. She blinked a couple times to get used to the brightness before carefully stepping to the chair at Hope's bedside.

She looked down at him, and felt a frown etch on her face. He was pale -paler than usual anyhow- and his hair was even more erratic than it normally was. She clenched her fists, but otherwise showed no sign of her agitation. She sat in the chair provided at the side of the bed, and watched him for a couple minutes, thinking about the previous days events.

_I was this close to kissing him. The hell? _

_This is a good lesson for him, I guess. He should listen to me more often. _

_Damn kid. _

_Then again, if he hadn't stepped up, I would probably be dead. Maybe. _

_I'm gonna be dead anyway, when he wakes up. I can just hear him now.._

"Light?" A rough voice asked.

Surprised, she blinked down at him and saw Hope's green eyes looking back at her with wonder and confusion, but he was obviously happy to see her no matter the circumstances.

She felt heat rise to her face a little at the thought, and thank god the pink of her hair hid whatever showed on her face.

She cleared her throat and threw on the best disappointed look she could. She poked his chest, hard, and growled, "I _told _you to let me handle it, idiot. Now look what you've got yourself into." She motioned towards the bandages around his shoulder area.

He barely missed a beat, smirking up at her and saying, "It's not so bad."

"You have a hole in your shoulder, Hope." She deadpanned, looking at him with obvious irritation.

"Better than a hole in my _heart_." He shot back at her, and she couldn't help but let out a couple giggles (giggles? What?) at his fake pained expression.

He laughed easily along with her and then gave her that special smile and whispered, "I'm glad you came to visit, at least."

She smiled back at him ever so slightly, but turned away quickly and told him, "I had to. Your my ride home."

"Oh, such rapier wit. How you wound me." His voice was coated in sarcasm but he still kept that stupid grin on his face.

She wanted to kiss it off of him.

**SMACK**.

_Smack_, not kiss. _Smack_.

Yes, that...that is what she meant. Obviously.

Clearing this stupidity from her mind, she glanced down at him and studied his face. She often found herself doing this when she was thinking without even realising she had done it. This time, though, it was purely intentional.

"You realize you have something on your face, right?" She asked, her tone totally neutral. It caused Hope to burst out laughing until he groaned and put his shoulder back on the bed again.

"Do I?" He asked, his voice cheeky and playful. She didn't understand why until he boldly asked, "Can you get it? I can't get to a mirror."

She eyed him suspiciously, but before she could do anything, there was the sound of footsteps on the ground. She turned her head and spotted _her_.

The girl from the park.

The bane of her very existence since yesterday.

Her arch nemesis.

She had no idea what the girl's name was, but the above point still stands.

Light decided to call her 'Jane-girl', because she was mentally pissing herself off by repeatedly referring to her as 'the girl'.

Lightning instantly stood up as Jane-girl approached, and she watched Hope's expression carefully. He was...surprised, but not entirely unhappy.

Still, he didn't look totally comfortable either. That gave her a small satisfaction, though she had no idea why.

"Hey..." Hope rasped, giving her an awkward smile and a small hand wave.

Jane-girl gave a sideways smirk, and looked between Hope and Lightning uncomfortably. Light got the message right away - she wanted to be along with Hope.

Light wasn't having it. She crossed her arms, but Hope poked her in the side and said with a dopey expression, "It's fine. Give us a minute, Light."

With his tone softened the way it was, and the kind and pleading smile he gave her, she curtly nodded and stepped from the room. She let her back hit the wall gently as she stepped away from the door. Lightning took to staring at the ceiling, waiting for their conversation to be over.

* * *

><p>His green eyes stared into her brown ones, the eyes he had once willingly wasted his time thinking about and gazing into. Now he did it out of obligation for the seriousness of the conversation.<p>

Hope sighed and watched the door for a second before he glanced back at her. "So. What...what are you here for, exactly?" He asked, wishing his could make his voice stronger.

She brushed her hair behind her ear, and glanced at him and away again. "How're you holdin' up?" She asked, pointedly avoiding his question.

"I would feel a lot better if you would answer my question." He replied, raising his brow and fixing her with his gaze so she couldn't look away.

"Because...I wanted to see you." She replied with a shrug, looking at him with sincerity shining in her eyes.

"Why?" He whispered, shaking his head slightly. "For the past couple of months, you've wanted _nothing _to do with me. Now your suddenly worried?"

"Yeah, I guess." She replied instantly, then grabbed the side of her arm and looked away again with a sigh.

"I just...saw what you did and... and I was concerned, I guess."

"Well, you shouldn't be." He told her in a curt tone, "I can take care of myself." He growled. "Despite how many times Light has had to save my sorry ass..." He added with a lighthearted shrug.

"Light?" She asked, sounding a bit unsure. "Was that the girl who..?"

"The one I took a bullet for, yeah. The one who came to visit me before anyone else. _And_ the one who probably had to deal with doctors and paperwork for hours, too." He stared straight back at the girl with a hardened gaze, challenging her to say anything. There was a warm fondness to his voice though, a sound that wasn't there before.

She stared back at him, her gaze clearing and becoming somber, and almost sad. It was also lit up with a little happiness. I guess, over all, it could be described as a bittersweet expression.

"You really like her, huh?" She asked glumly, her posture changed to a relaxed and lazy one.

He cleared his throat and looked away, "I ... you should go." He told her, looking back at her with a steely gaze. He was determined not to break.

She nodded, rolling her sleeves over her fists. As she stood she came to the side of the bed, and kissed his forehead.

"Bye, Hope."

* * *

><p>Lightning was leaning against the wall still when the door opened, and the girl stepped out. She looked sad, disappointed even, and she glanced at Lightning and she smiled. It wasn't a smile that one would want to see, but not because it would mean anything unfortunate would befall you. It would be because you can see the lie and the heartbreak through the smile and know they are only pretending.<p>

As she opened her mouth to say something, Light cut her off first. She pushed off the wall slightly, and stood in front of her, "You don't deserve him, you know that?" She practically hissed, her eyes were stormy and cold, threatening and challenging.

"I see that now." The girl replied, nodding slightly at Lightning with the smile saddening a little more. She then sighed, gave a small shrug, and walked away down the hall.

Lightning watched her go, and slowly turned her attention back to the objective at hand; Take care of Hope.

She walked in through the door, and closed it again. Slowly, she walked over and sat hesitantly in the chair, glancing at him then away again.

"What was that all about?" She finally asked, and Hope just shrugged with a grimace and a nonchalant smile.

"It doesn't really matter anymore."

Light sighed, and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She would have to remember to bitch him out about it later. Right now, she was tired and needed some rest. Everything could wait until the morning.

* * *

><p>SO. Hate it?<p>

Yeah, it's shorter than the other ones.

But, see, I have this little plan for all my chapters. And I write down what I would like to happen in them. This is all I had down for Ch. 4 So...*shrug*

This will probably be the shortest chapter though :)


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